The third little traveller raised an eyebrow “Mum, you show them that, and I guarantee you you’re going to loose a few followers. Gross”.

Walk in her shoes begins next week. I wrote about it here. I decided to get started this past week as I was interested to see how much I walked on a regular day and thought it might be good to get into practice. Holy slothful guacamole! Let’s just say, it has been a bit of a revelation.

Working from home and spending my days in front of a laptop mean that I am drastically immobile. And I mean drastically. I have some excuses for you. Doha has a culture of mall shopping, it is not a city of neighbourhood high streets, and sidewalks are a luxury which means I spend a lot of time in the car. It’s ridiculous, but due to the lack of sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, I actually drive to the park. I know.

I have spent a lot of time over the past week thinking about women who need to walk for water every day. While you’re making your 10,000 steps there’s plenty of time for the realization of just how much time is wasted. Time that could have been spent either earning money, getting an education, or caring for children; or more to point, enjoying a well earned break.

There have been many “Oh shit I have to walk another 3,000 steps before I pick up the children” moments this week. Or worse “Oh God, I’m going to have walk another 2,000 steps before I can go to bed.” I keep thinking about the women who have their “Oh shit, I have to walk for four hours before I can feed my children” moments.

The little travellers were at the playground the other evening while I walked around and around the compound, each time I passed them I waved while thanking my lucky stars I had running water at my house. I tried to imagine what it would be like making those steps while carrying a full bucket of water.

I’d really like to make a difference by doing this walk, even if it’s just a little one. Feel free to join me or donate. I set a goal of raising $250, I’ve got $95 to go. If you’d like to donate, you can click here.

Want to get your expat life sorted?

At the end of our expat experience we want to arrive home with a juicy bank account and a heart full of fantastic travel memories.